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Showing posts from 2019

Hawk100 - Birthday run

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I don't know what I was thinking, I chose to run a 100-miles on my Birthday this year!  Well, it sounded like a good idea when I signed up in January for a September race.  A lot had happened since  I signed up, including Badwater135.  This was my first race after Badwater135 at Death Valley in July.  I was still mentally and physically recovering from that humongous effort, and wanted to run the Hawk100 with my heart, enjoy the experience and most importantly, have fun. Hawk100 in 3 words: community, trails, joy! Pre-race: It was an easy flight to Kansas City, MO and a short drive to Lawrence, Kansas.  The preparation and days leading up to the race felt very relaxed.  I was not worried about the weather, flooding, trail conditions, my conditions, etc.. as I have been pondering, I like frequently do, on where life has brought me and what was ahead of me.  We had lunch with a colleague who retired in July and lives in KC.  It is alway...

Keys100 - an ode to crew angels

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Sunday 9 am: It was mile-88, temperatures were heading to over 100F heat index, the sun was blazing down on me,  I have been running for over 27 hours by now, without a crew or pacer, and a major shin injury in my right leg! I can feel myself staggering on this cement side walk that was going up a bridge... a lot had happened until then.... All smiles, but this is within the first 25 miles Pre-race: I flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday before the race weekend, as I had planned a few days off from work around Keys100 ultra-marathon.  I will be going to the Florida Keys for the race any ways, why not stay a few extra days.  My friend Melissa Kaiser from the Chicago area ultra-running community had joined me for this trip as she had also signed up for the race.  We drove to Key Largo and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, which was conveniently positioned next to the packet pickup and the race start line. A relay team we met before the race We went around K...

Running Badwater135 - The World's Toughest Foot Race At The Hottest Place On Earth

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It is extremely difficult for me to put into words how I feel about the honor of being invited to run Badwater this year.  This was the most difficult physical challenge that I have taken on in my life. This blog post is a humble attempt to share my experience in preparing for and competing in Badwater.  Please note, I am still raising funds for the Challenged Athlete Foundation , it is an important cause that I will talk in detail later in this blog. Badwater is a 135 mile (217 km) non-stop foot race in California. It starts 282 ft. below sea level at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park and finishes at the Mt. Whitney portal at 8,300 ft above sea level. The Badwater 135 course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 14,600 ft of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100 ft of cumulative descent.  Death Valley records the hottest temperatures on planet earth. In this blog post I will do my best to summarize the experience from start to finish, in the...